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SEYMOUR  DURST 


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Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


OBSTRUCTIONS 
OF  THE 

HUDSON  RIVER 
DURING  THE 
REVOLUTION 


OBSTRUCTIONS 
OF  THE 
HUDSON  RIVER 
DURING  THE 
REVOLUTION 


SIXTY    COPIES    PRINTED  FOR 

CHARLES  F.  HEARTMAN 
METUCHEN,  N.  J. 

19  2  7 


No  of  Sixty  Copies  Printed 


In  spite  of  the  countless  histories  of 
the  American  Revolution,  there  still 
remain  errors  and  omissions  in  the 
many  phases  of  the  war.  For  instance, 
most  writers  note  but  one  obstruction 
of  the  Hudson  River  during  the  War 
of  Independence.  Yet  from  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Secret  Committee,  ap- 
pointed July  16,  1776,  by  the  Provin- 
cial Convention,  we  know  there  were 
four  distinct  impediments,  including 
two  chains,  which  were  conceived  with 
the  idea  of  preventing  the  British  from 
ascending  the  river.  However,  there 
was  but  one  great  West  Point  chain, 
the  other  obstructions  were  situated  at 
other  points,  and  were  all  broken  by 
the  enemy. 

The  importance  of  the  Hudson  River 
during  the  Revolution  cannot  be  over- 
estimated, for  both  the  British  and 
American  leaders  were  aware  that 
West  Point  was  "the  Gibraltar  of 
America."  If  the  British  could  gain 
possession  of  the  Hudson  they  would 
thus  divide  the  Colonies,  and  would 
facilitate  communication  between  Can- 
ada and  lower  New  York.  Hence  in 
a  letter  dated,  London,  July  31,  1775, 
the  British  Government,  conveying  to 
their  subjects  in  America,  the  plan  of 
operations  decided  upon,  ordered 
them,  "to  get  possession  of  New  York 
and  Albany; — to  command  the  Hud- 
son and  East  Rivers  with  a  number  o( 


i 


small  men-of-war,  and  cutters,  sta- 
tioned in  different  parts  of  it,  so  as  to 
cut  off  all  communication  by  water  be- 
tween New  York  and  the  Provinces  to 
the  northward  of  it,  and  between  New 
York  and  Albany,  except  for  the 
King's  service." 

But  the  Americans  were  equally  fa- 
miliar with  the  importance  of  main- 
taining possession  and  control  of  the 
river,  for  in  a  report  submitted  by  the 
Provincial  Congress  of  New  York  to 
the  Continental  Congress,  early  in 
1775,  the  subject  is  thus  treated:  "If 
the  enemy  persist  in  their  plan  of  sub- 
jugating these  States  to  the  yoke  of 
Great  Britain,  they  must,  in  proportion 
to  their  knowledge  of  the  country,  be 
more  and  more  convinced  of  the  neces- 
sity of  their  becoming  masters  of  the 
Hudson  River,  which  will  give  them 
the  entire  command  of  the  water  com- 
munications with  the  Indian  nations, 
effectually  prevent  all  intercourse  be- 
tween the  eastern  and  southern  con- 
federates, divide  our  strength,  and  en- 
feeble every  effort  for  our  common 
preservation  and  security.  That  this 
was  their  original  plan,  and  that  Gen- 
eral Carlton  and  General  Howe  flat- 
tered themselves  with  the  delusive 
hope  of  uniting  their  forces  at  Albany, 
every  intelligence  confirms,  and  it  ap- 
pears to  the  Committee  that  they  will 
not  give  up  this  grand  object  until 


2 


they  shall  finally  relinquish  the  pro- 
ject of  enslaving  America."  (*1). 

The  Provincial  Congress,  at  its  ses- 
sion held  May  30,  1775,  appointed  Col. 
Clinton  and  Mr.  Tappan  to  examine 
the  Highlands  and  decide  the  most 
proper  place  for  erecting  fortifica- 
tions. This  committee  in  its  report 
suggested  the  erection  of  Forts  Con- 
stitution, Clinton,  and  Montgomery, 
and  "begs  leave  to  observe,  that  they 
are  informed  that  by  means  of  four  or 
five  booms,  chained  together  on  one 
side  of  the  river,  ready  to  be  drawn 
across,  the  passage  can  be  closed  up 
to  prevent  any  vessel  passing  or  re- 
passing." (*2).  On  the  18th  of  August 
following,  the  fortifications  were  or- 
dered and  a  committee  appointed, 
Bernard  Romans  (*3)  was  selected  to 
superintend  the  erection  of  the  three 
forts,  which  were  finally  completed 
under  the  direction  of  Captain  Ma- 
chin,  (*4)  in  the  Spring  of  1776.  How- 
ever the  suggestions  in  regard  to  ob- 
structing the  navigation,  do  not  appear 
to  have  been  acted  upon,  further  than 
a  survey  of  the  river  until  a  few  days 
after  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, when  a  Secret  Committee  was 
appointed  "to  devise  and  to  carry  into 
execution  such  measures  as  to  them 
shall  appear  most  effectual  for  ob- 
structing the  channel  of  the  Hudson 
River,  or  annoying  the  enemy's  ships 


3 


in  their  passage  up  said  river  and  that 
this  Convention  pledge  themselves  for 
defraying  the  charges  incident  there- 
to." The  Committee  consisted  of 
Mr.  Jay,  Mr.  Robert  Yates,  Major  C. 
Tappan,  Mr.  Robert  R.  Livingston  and 
Mr.  Paulding. 

The  Secret  Committee  sought  to  ob- 
struct the  River  at  four  points  by 
means  either  simply  or  combined,  of 
fire-ships,  booms,  chains,  and  chev- 
eaux-de-frise. 

The  First  point  was  at  Fort  Wash- 
ington (*5)  where  a  cheveaux-de-frise 
was  stretched  to  Fort  Lee  on  the  oppo- 
site bank  of  the  River.  (See  Fig.)  This 
was  made  by  sinking  cribs  of  timber 
across  the  channel  with  the  addition  of 
old  boats  and  sloops,  moored  so  as  to 
block  the  navigation.  The  British  cap- 
tured the  fort  on  November  16,  1776, 
the  garrison  of  nearly  3,000  men  were 
made  prisoners  of  war;  the  obstruc- 
tions were  removed,  and  Fort  Lee  en- 
tirely demolished. 

The  Second  location  was  at  Fort 
Montgomery,  where  a  chain,  eighteen 
hundred  feet  in  length,  supported  by 
heavy  spars  and  connected  with  iron 
links,  was  placed  behind  a  boom  made 
from  large  rafts  of  timber  anchored 
with  the  armed  butts  (See  Fig.)  dan- 
gerously pointed  down  the  river.  This 
consisted  of  a  part  of  a  chain  brought 


4 


MAP  OF  THE  HIGHLANDS  AND  HUDSON 
RIVER,  SHOWING  POSITION  OF  CHAINS 

from  Lake  Champlain,  having  been 
designed  to  obstruct  the  River  Sorel ; 
and  another  part  was  made  at  Pough  - 
keepsie,  out  of  iron  furnished  from 
Livingston  Manor,  (Amer.  Arch.  V. 
III.)  On  July  25th,  1776,  the  Secret 
Committee  sitting  at  Poughkeepsie 
proposed  and  agreed  "that  a  boom  be 
drawn  across  the  Hudson's  River  at 


5 


the  Highlands.  That  an  express  be 
sent  to  General  Schuyler  for  the  chain 
intended  to  be  thrown  across  the  River 
Sorel,  to  be  employed  for  the  above 
purpose;  and  as  it  may  fall  short  of 
the  distance  required,  it  is  farther  con- 
cluded to  apply  to  Col.  Livingston  to 
make,  until  countermanded  by  this 
Committee  a  quantity  of  bar-iron  of 
about  IV2  inches  square,  and  to  be 
sent  from  time  to  time  to  the  works  at 


THE  OLD  FORGE  AT  STERLING  WHERE 
IN  1778  MR.  PETER  TOWNSEND  MADE 
THE  GREAT  IRON  CHAIN,  WHICH  PRO- 
TECTED HUDSON  AT  WEST  POINT  DUR- 
ING THE  REVOLUTION 


6 


Poughkeepsie."  (Messrs.  Van  Zante, 
Laurence  and  Tutor  were  the  iron 
workers.)  In  the  margin  of  this  min- 
ute is  the  following  note:  "For  600 
yards  or  1800  feet  of  chain,  you  wart 
4800  foot  of  bar  iron  in  length."  (*6). 
It  was  believed  that  these  obstructions, 
covered  by  the  guns  of  the  fort,  an'l 
accompanied  by  several  armed  vespels, 
stationed  just  behind  the  chain,  would 
be  sufficient  to  effectually  prevent  the 
enemy  from  passing.  The  result, 
however,  proved  otherwise.  This 
chain  was  a  great  disappointment  to 
General  Washington,  the  Committee, 
and  the  Nation  at  large.  First,  it  did 
not  hinder  General  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
when  he  sailed  up  the  river  in  1777, 
&nd  secondly,  it  broke  shortly  after  its 
completion,  and  having  been  mended, 
broke  the  second  time.  The  Commit- 
tee were  undecided  as  to  their  next 
procedure  for.  as  it  appears  from 
their  journal  of  November  30,  1776: 
"In  perfecting  the  obstruction  between 
St.  Anthony's  Nose  on  the  eastern 
shore  and  Fort  Montgomery,  we  en- 
deavored to  avail  ourselves  of  the 
model  of  that  which  had  proved  ef- 
fectual in  the  River  Delaware,  and 
were  assisted  by  the  advice  and  ex- 
perience of  Capt.  Hazelwood  (*7),  but 
the  great  length  of  the  chain  being 
upwards  of  1800  feet,  the  bulk  of  the 
logs  which  were  necessary  to  support 


7 


it,  the  immense  weight  of  water,  have 
baffled  all  our  efforts;  it  separated 
twice  after  holding  only  a  few  hours." 

"Mr.  Machin,  the  engineer  at  Fort 
Montgomery,  is  of  the  opinion,  that 
with  proper  alterations  it  may  still  be 
of  service  in  another  part  of  the  river, 
and  we  have  with  General  Heath's 
(*8)  concurrence,  directed  him  to 
make  the  trial, — But  we  have  too 
much  reason  to  despair  of  its  ever  ful- 
ly answering  the  important  purpose 
for  which  it  was  constructed.  A  like 
disappointment,  we  are  informed,  hap- 
pened at  Portsmouth." 

Again  on  the  1st  of  December,  1776, 
"the  disappointment  of  the  two  at- 
tempts to  obstruct  the  River  at  Forts 
Washington  and  Montgomery  in- 
creases our  anxiety  for  the  success  of 
the  present  effort,  etc." 

This  chain  at  Fort  Montgomery,  or 
as  Governor  Clinton  incorrectly  called 
it,  "cheveaux-de-frise,"  must  have 
been  re-mended  and  made  secure,  a: 
it  was  in  good  order  in  October,  1777, 
when  the  forts  were  taken  by  the  Eng- 
lish ;  for  they  broke  it  by  the  force  of 
their  ships.  (*9).  This  also  proved  a 
great  burden  (the  original  cost  was 
estimated  at  $70,000,  Continental  cur- 
rency), but  the  time,  money  and  solici- 
tude all  were  expended  to  no  purpose. 

The  Third  point  where  the  Ameri- 


8 


cans  hoped  to  prevent  any  progress  of 
the  British  on  the  Hudson,  was  at  Pol- 
lopel's  Island.  A  cheveaux-de-frise 
was  stretched  from  the  island  toward 
Plum  Point,  (*10)  (see  figure)  on  the 
north  bank  of  Murderer's  Creek.  In 
the  Journals  of  the  Committee  of 
Safety  under  date  of  November  30, 
1776,  it  is  recorded  that  Mr.  Machin, 
Mr.  Gilbert  Livingston  and  the  Gen- 
erals Heath  and  Clinton  had  conferred 
about  closing  the  channel  of  "Hudson's 


9 


River"  at  Pollopel's  Island,  and  that 
Mr.  Machin,  the  engineer  had  reason 
to  believe  that  the  chain,  with  proper 
alterations,  might  still  be  very  useful 
if  permission  were  given  to  make  the 
necessary  changes  and  to  remove 
it  to  a  more  advantageous  place.  This 
was  allowed  and  an  order  given  for 
the  delivery  to  Mr.  Machin,  (*11)  at 
New  Windsor,  of  spars,  timber,  and 
three  tons  of  iron,  one  and  one  half 
inches  by  one  inch  and  three  quarters. 
The  iron  for  this  work  was  made  at 
the  forge  of  Mr.  Jonas  Williams  in 
Cornwall,  out  of  ore  brought  from  the 
"Forest  of  Dean"  in  Monroe.  This 
cheveaux-de-frise    (see    figure)  was 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  CHEVEAUX- 
DE-FRIZE,  AT  POLLOPEL'S  ISLAND 

formed  from  square  frames  of  tim- 
ber or  cribs  from  which  extended 
spars,  the  points  were  armed  with 
iron  of  sufficient  length  to  reach  with- 
in a  few  feet  of  the  surface  of  the  wa- 
ter.   The  cribs  were  then  loaded  with 


10 


stone,  and  submerged  across  the  chan- 
nel. 

This  third  obstruction  was  the  sub- 
ject of  General  Washington's  letter 
dated  May  7,  1777,  from  Morristown, 
N.  J.,  written  to  Brig.  General  McDou- 


DIAGRAM  OF  BOOM  AND  CHAIN  AT  FORT 
MONTGOMERY,  ERECTED  IN  1776 

gall,  (*12)  who  succeeded  General 
Heath  in  command  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Troops  at  Peekskill  and  vicinity, 
in  which  the  commander-in-chief  la- 
mented the  imperfect  state  of  the  for- 
tifications and  said  that  circumstances 
indicated  a  movement  of  the  enemy  up 
the  North  River  instead  of  the  Dela- 
ware. In  compliance  with  these 
instructions  Generals  Greene,  McDou- 
gall,  Knox,  Wayne  and  George 
Clinton,  examined  the  works  and  re- 
commended the  boom  or  chain,  in 
front  of  which  should  be  placed  one 
or  two  cables  to  break  the  force  of  a 
vessel  before  it  should  strike  the 
chain;   that  two   Continental  Ships 


n 


then  on  the  spot,  and  two  row-gal- 
leys should  be  manned  and  stationed 
just  above  the  obstruction  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  fire  upon  the  enemy's 
ships  in  front  when  they  approached. 
In  a  letter  dated  Little  Britain,  Octo- 
ber 12,  1777,  Governor  Clinton  shows 
the  ineffective  use  of  these  works 
when  he  writes  that  the  enemy  are 
destroying  Forts  Clinton  and  Mont- 
gomery, adding  in  his  postscript,  "Yes- 
terday Evening  an  armed  schooner, 
two  Row  Galleys  and  a  small  brig 
passed  the  cheveaux-de-frise,  and  are 
out  of  sight  up  the  River  this  morn- 
ing." 

The  Fourth  situation  was  at  "the 
West  Point."  Here  was  erected  a  boom 
and  chain,  (see  figure)  made  by  Peter 
Townsend,  (see  figure)  the  owner  of 
large  mines  and  works,  located  at 
the  outlet  of  the  Sterling  Lake.  This 
chain  was  known  as  the  "Great  Chain" 
or  the  "West  Point  Chain"  and  was  a 
credit  to  the  iron  of  which  it  was 
made,  the  men  who  made  it,  and  the 
engineers  who  superintended  its  plac- 
ing. A  more  detailed  description  and 
history  of  this  famous  chain,  will  fol- 
low. 

Early  in  October,  1777,  General  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  then  commanding  the 
British  forces  in  New  York,  embarked 
his  troops,  ostensibly  for  a  southern 


12 


THE  POSITION  OF  THE 
CHEVEAUX-DE-FRIZE  AT 
FORT  WASHINGTON 

expedition,  but  waited  a  favorable 
wind  for  the  execution  of  his  real  de- 
sign, which  was  to  sail  up  the  Hudson 
River,  (see  figure)  break  the  power  of 
the  Americans  on  that  river  and,  to 
either  render  the  promised  aid  to  Gen- 
eral Burgoyne,  who  was  hemmed  in 
at  Saratoga,  or,  to  distract  the  atten- 
tion of  General  Gates,  then  at  Albany 
and  thus  allow  Burgoyne  to  escape. 

Governor  George  Clinton,  upon 
hearing  of  the  advance  of  the  enemy, 
adjourned  the  Legislature,  then  in  ses- 
sion at  Kingston,  and  collected  such 
militia  as  could  be  assembled,  pro- 
ceeded to  take  command  of  Fort  Mont- 
gomery which  was  separated,  by  a 
creek,  from  Fort  Clinton,  where  his 
brother,  General  James  Clinton  com- 
manded, but  due  to  the  untrained  and 
inadequate  garrisons,  Forts  Montgom- 


13 


cry  and  Clinton  were  gained  after  a 
brave  resistance  by  the  Americans,  on 
October  6th,  and  Fort  Constitution  re- 
duced to  a  mere  guard,  under  Captain 
Gersham  Mott,  who  after  burning  the 
barracks,  and  leaving  the  guns  un- 
.spiked,  abandoned  the  island.  Thus 
by  the  8th  of  October,  1777,  the  "for- 
tifications in  the  Highlands"  were  com- 
pletely destroyed  by  the  British,  who 
now  placed  small  garrisons  at  the 
Forts,  while  Vaughn  and  Wallace 
sailed  up  the  Hudson  to  Kingston,  and 
destroyed  it  with  the  neighboring 
towns,  mills  and  forts.  Upon  hearing 
of  the  defeat  of  Burgoyne,  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  withdrew  his  forces  from  the 
Highlands,  thus  leaving  the  "Gibraltar 
of  America"  once  more  in  the  hands  of 
the  Colonists. 

After  the  capture  of  Forts  Clinton 
and  Montgomery,  near  the  lower  en- 
trance to  the  Highlands,  in  1777,  and 
the  abandonment  of  Fort  Constitution 
by  the  Americans,  a  few  days  after- 
ward, public  attention  was  directed  to 
the  importance  of  other  and  stronger 
fortifications  in  that  vicinity.  On  the 
5th  of  November,  Congress  appointed 
General  Gates  to  command  the  High- 
lands, but  he  was  made  president  of 
the  Board  of  War,  about  that  time, 
and  never  entered  upon  the  prescribed 
duties.  Anxious  to  have  those  passes 
strongly    guarded,    Washington  re- 


14 


quested  General  Putnam  to  bestow  his 
most  serious  attention  upon  that  im- 
portant subject.  The  Commander-in- 
Chief  also  wrote  to  Governor  Clinton 
(*13)  desiring  him  to  take  immediate 
supervision  of  the  work;  but  his  legis- 
lative duties,  then  many  and  pressing, 
made  it  difficult  for  him  to  comply,  al- 
though he  expressed  his  willingness  to 
devote  as  much  time  as  possible  to  the 
matter,  and  among  other  valuable  sug- 
gestions, respecting  the  proposed  for- 
tifications, he  mentioned  "the  west 
point,"  as  an  eligible  site  for  a  strong 
fortress. 

On  the  6th  of  November,  Deputy 
Quartermaster  Hugh  Hughes  (*14) 
wrote  from  Fishkill  to  General  Gates, 
saying,  that,  with  the  Clintons,  he  had 
visited  the  fortifications  on  the  Hud- 
son and  had  decided  that  forts  be 
erected  at  "the  west  point,"  from 
which  place  a  chain  and  a  cheveaux- 
de-frise,  be  stretched  across  to  Consti- 
tution Island.  The  location  selected 
had  the  advantage  of  being  situated  at 
a  sharp  bend  of  the  river,  where  the 
vessels  would  lose  the  wind  and  their 
momentum,  before  striking  the  boom 
and  chain.  The  channel  being  nar- 
rowest at  this  point  the  enemy's  ships 
would  be  subject  to  the  fire  of  the  bat- 
teries to  be  errected  on  either  shore. 
Col.  Radiere  (*15)  was  appointed  to 


15 


engineer  the  fortifications,  and  Col. 
Hughes  to  superintend  the  chain. 

The  foundation  of  a  strong  fort  was 
accordingly  laid  on  Mount  Indepen- 
dence, and,  when  completed,  it  was 
named  Putnam,  in  honor  of  the  com- 
mander, and  on  eminences  south  of  it, 
Forts  Webb,  Wyllys,  and  other  re- 
doubts were  constructed.  At  the  close 
of  1779,  West  Point  was  the  strongest 
military  post  in  America.  In  addition 
to  the  batteries  that  stood  menacingly 
upon  the  hill  tops,  the  river  was  ob- 
structed by  the  enormous  iron  chain, 
preceded  by  a  substantial  boom. 

Colonel  Timothy  Pickering,  (*16) 
then  president  of  the  Board  of  War, 
at  the  request  of  General  Washington 
consulted  Mr.  Peter  Townsend,  (*17) 
the  owner  of  extensive  iron  mines  and 
works,  at  Sterling,  residing  at  Chester 
in  Orange  County,  with  a  view  of  as- 
certaining whether  it  would  be  prac- 
ticable to  manufacture  a  chain  strong 
enough  to  withstand  the  shock  and 
strain,  and  at  the  same  time,  not  so 
heavy,  as  to  render  handling  impossi- 
ble. When  matters  were  agreed  upon, 
they  left  Greycoat  on  Sunday  in  the 
midst  of  a  blizzard,  and  after  the 
fires  were  started  and  the  work 
commenced,  at  Sterling,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  New  Windsor;  from  there 
to   West   Point,   to   inspect  the  lo- 


L6 


cality  and  fix  the  position,  where  the 
chain  was  to  be  placed  when  com- 
pleted. The  incident  is  described  by 
the  eminent  historian,  Benjamin  J. 
Lossing,  in  his  "Field  Book  of  the  Rev- 
olution," who  states  that,  "Colonel 
Timothy  Pickering,  accompanied  by 
Captain  Machin,  arrived  at  the  house 
of  Mr.  Townsend  late  on  a  Saturday 
night  ....  and  in  a  violent  snow- 
storm, amid  the  darkness  of  the  night, 
the  parties  set  out  for  the  Sterling  Iron 
Works.  New  England  teamsters  car- 
ried the  links,  as  fast  as  they  were  fin- 
ished, to  West  Point,  and  in  the  space 
of  six  weeks  the  whole  chain  was  com- 
pleted." At  daylight  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing the  forges  were  in  operation.  He 
further  states  that,  "Gordon  and 
other  early  writers  have  promulgated 
the  erroneous  opinion  that  this  chain 
was  constructed  in  1777,  and  was  de- 
stroyed by  the  British  fleet  that  passed 
up  the  Hudson  and  burned  Kingston 
in  October  of  that  year.  Misled  by 
these  authorities,  I  have  published  the 
same  error  in  my  'Seventeen  Hundred 
and  Seventy-six.'  Documentary  evi- 
dence which  is  far  more  reliable  than 
the  best  tradition,  shows  that  the  chain 
was  constructed  in  the  Spring  of 
1778." 

Peter  Townsend.  in  behalf  of 
Noble,  Townsend  &  Company,  pro- 
prietors of  the  Sterling  Iron  Works,  on 


17 


February  2nd,  1778,  entered  into  a 
contract  with  Hugh  Hughes,  Deputy 
Quartermaster-General  to  the  Army, 
in  behalf  of  the  United  States,  for  the 
construction  of  a  chain,  to  be  made  of 
the  best  Sterling  Iron,  500  yards  in 
length,  two  inches  and  one  quarter 
square,  or  as  near  thereto  as  possible, 
with  a  swivel  to  every  hundred  feet, 
and  a  clevis  to  every  thousand  feet  in 
the  same  manner  as  those  of  the  for- 
mer chain.  Twelve  tons  of  anchors  of 
sizes  needed  were  included.  For  six 
weeks,  day  and  night,  seven  fires  were 
kept  at  forging  and  ten  at  welding. 
Sixty  men  were  granted  furlough  from 
the  army  to  assist  in  the  work,  which 
was  completed  within  the  time  con- 
tracted for.  The  chain  was  divided 
into  sections  of  ten  links  each,  loaded 
on  ox  carts  and  hauled  to  New  Wind- 
sor thirty  miles  from  Sterling  where 
Capt.  Machin,  at  his  forge,  joined  the 
links  together  and  fastened  them  to 
the  logs  which  supported  the  chain 
when  completed.  As  the  roads  were 
doubtless  very  rough,  and  the  chain 
weighed  one  hundred  and  thirty-six 
tons,  the  task  of  transporting  it  was  a 
formidable  one.  From  Captain  Ma- 
chin's  forge,  the  boom  and  chain  were 
floated  down  the  Hudson,  and  were  in 
place  by  the  30th  of  April,  1778.  In  a 
letter  from  General  Clinton  to  Captain 
Machin,  dated  Poughkeepsie,  May  3d, 


18 


1778,  he  writes: —  "I  received  your 
letter,  and  am  happy  to  learn  that  the 
Chain  is  across  the  river,  and  that  you 
had  the  good  fortune  to  accomplish  it 
so  expeditiously  and  so  much  to  your 
satisfaction." 

General  Heath  in  his  "Memoirs/' 
describing  the  chain  and  its  adjust- 
ment says,  that,  it  was  fastened  to 
poles  about  sixteen  feet  long,  sharp- 
ened at  the  end  with  a  collar  cut  in 
the  middle  and  secured  to  the  chain 
by  staples.  Anchors  were  fastened  at 
proper  distances  to  keep  it  from  sway- 
ing, and  great  bolts  held  it  to  the  rocks 
at  either  end.  The  chain  was,  he  te' Is 
us,  removed  every  winter  "by  means 
of  a  large  Windlass."  The  fact  is  that 
one  end  of  each,  the  boom  and  chain, 
were  loosened  and  a  Windlass  was  em- 
ployed to  swing  the  ends  around  to 
the  opposite  shore. 

The  chain  was  removed  after  the 
close  of  the  War,  a  large  portion  was 
fcold  to  the  West  Point  Foundry  at  Cold 
Springs,  where  it  was  worked  up  and 
a  relic  of  the  chain  is  preserved  at 
West  Point  which  verifies  the  descrip- 
tion as  contained  in  the  Articles  of 
Agreement.  In  removing  the  Boom  fi- 
nally, a  portion  of  it  become  detached, 
and  the  logs  being  water  soaked,  sunk, 
und  after  eighty  years  it  was  recovered 
and  now  serves  the  noble  purpose  of 
elucidating  an  important  branch  in  the 


19 


defensive  operations  of  the  Hudson  in 
the  struggle  for  Independence. 

The  boom  was  placed  in  front,  and 
consisted  of  logs  put  together  with 
lighter  links  and  placed  horizontally, 
so  as  to  break  the  force  of  a  sailing 
vessel,  before  it  could  reach  the  chain. 
The  boom  could  be  readily  converted 
into  a  bridge,  and  it  is  not  improbable 
that  it  was  constructed  with  this  ob- 
ject in  view.  The  absence  of  such  a 
bridge  for  the  transportation  of  the 
troops  had  contributed  much  to  the 
loss  of  Forts  Clinton  and  Montgomery, 
and  it  is  asserted  on  good  authority 
that  Gov.  Clinton  and  others  had 
walked  across  the  Hudson  River  on  the 
Chain  but  in  all  probability  it  was  the 
Loom. 

According  to  the  articles  of  agree- 
ment Peter  Townsend  was  to  receive 
forty  pounds  for  every  ton  delivered. 
In  case  there  should  occur  some  varia- 
tion in  the  value  of  the  money,  Noble, 
Townsend  &  Company  were  to  be  paid 
four  hundred  pounds  Sterling  for  the 
chain.  There  has  never  been  found 
any  record  of  a  bill  having  been  ren- 
dered, which  means,  that  Peter  Town- 
send  gave  it  as  his  contribution,  to- 
ward the  cause  of  Independence.  This 
chain  was  entirely  satisfactory,  for,  it 
was  never  broken,  either  by  the  en- 
emy, or  by  the  forces  of  nature. 


20 


Under  date  of  August  23rd,  1780, 
General  Arnold  wrote  to  Colonel  Pick- 
ering from  the  Robinson  House,  West 
Point,  "I  am  informed  in  a  letter  of  the 
21st,  from  the  Engineer;  that  the  mid- 
dle Part  of  the  Chain  across  the  Hud- 
son; at  these  Parts,  is  sinking  &  in  a 
dangerous  Situation,  on  Account  of  the 
Logs,  which  it  has  hitherto  floated 
on,  being  water  soaken;  that  unless 
ployed  to  swing  the  ends  around  to 
this  be  speedily  remedied,  it  will  be 
out  of  our  Power  to  raise  it  but  with 
great  expense  of  time  &  trouble ;  that 
new  timber  cannot  be  hauled  for  want 
of  teams  of  which  we  have  not  suffi- 
cient for  the  daily  necessities  of  the 
Garrison." 

This  letter  written  one  month  before 
his  treason  was  discovered,  shows  the 
daring  scheme  being  carefully  laid  by 
the  traitor.  A  few  days  prior  to  his 
detection  Arnold  wrote  in  a  disguised 
hand  and  manner  to  Major  Andre,  in- 
forming him  that  he  had  weakened 
the  obstructions  in  the  river  by  order- 
ing a  link  in  the  chain  to  be  taken 
out  and  carried  to  the  smith,  under  the 
pretense  that  it  needed  repairs.  He 
assured  his  employer  that  the  link 
would  not  be  returned  to  its  place 
before  the  forts  should  be  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  enemy.  How  Arnold 
could  have  done  this,  without  suspi- 
cion and  without  destroying  the  chain, 


21 


no  one  can  tell,  but  of  his  treason 
there  is  no  doubt.  It  would  have 
been  possible,  however,  to  have  weak- 
ened the  boom,  which  preceded  the 
chain,  and  as  the  boom  and  chain  were 
often  confused,  the  terms  are  some- 
times interchanged. 

Appleton's  "Cyclopaedia  of  Ameri- 
can Biography,"  and  Hough's  "Amer- 
ican Biographical  Notes,"  have  falsely 
attributed  the  manufacture  of  the 
Great  Chain  at  West  Point,  to  Samuel 
Wheeler,  a  blacksmith,  at  Weccaco, 
Philadelphia  Co.,  Pa.  He  is  supposed 
to  have  moved  the  chain,  in  links, 
through  New  Jersey,  but,  that  this 
statement  is  fictitious  is  shown  by  the 
Articles  of  Agreement,  between  Peter 
Townsend  and  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, (see  facsimile).  Further 
that  such  an  order  should  be  given  to 
a  Philadelphia  blacksmith,  when  there 
were  renowned  iron  works  within 
easy  access  to  West  Point,  such  as, 
Forest  of  Dean,  Ringwood,  Sterling, 
New  Windsor,  Queensboro  Furnace, 
near  Fort  Montgomery,  and  the  works 
at  Poughkeepsie,  and  that  such  an 
enormous  weight  of  iron,  in  the 
shape  of  links  should  be  exposed  to 
the  enemy,  and  to  the  vigilance  of 
Tory  spies,  and  Cow  Boys  all  along 
the  route,  would  be  extremely  doubt- 
ful. It  is  estimated  that  to  remove 
such    a    chain    from  Philadelphia 


22 


through  New  Jersey  to  West  Point, 
would  have  required  fifty  ox-teams, 
upwards  of  five  days. 

The  above  three  points  prove,  con- 
clusively that  Samuel  Wheeler  could 
not  have  made  the  Great  Chain,  and 
the  Journal  of  the  Secret  Committee, 
sitting  at  Poughkeepsie,  July  25th, 
1776  shows  that  the  chain  at  Fort 
Montgomery  was  sent  by  General 
Schuyler,  from  Lake  Champlain,  to 
be  lengthened  from  iron  made  by  Col. 
Livingston,  the  work  being  done  by 
Messrs.  Van  Zante,  Laurence,  and  Tu- 
dor at  Poughkeepsie. 

Since  the  Sterling  Iron  Works 
played  such  an  important  part  in  the 
manufacture  of  the  WEST  POINT 
CHAIN,  a  short  history  of  them,  can- 
not but  interest  the  reader. 

The  Sterling  Iron  Works  and  Mines, 
situated  on  a  lake  of  the  same  name, 
in  the  town  of  Warwick,  Orange 
County,  New  York,  derive  their  name 
from  the  quality  of  the  ore,  (note  the 
orthography)  and  not,  as  is  generally 
stated,  (unsupported  by  proof),  from 
William  Alexander,  known  as  Lord 
Stirling,  who  at  the  time  of  the  first 
mention  of  the  Sterling  Tract  (see  fig- 
ure) in  the  Surveys  of  Charles  Clinton. 
1745,  (*18)  was  but  nineteen  years 
of  age.  It  is  not  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  this  immense  Tract  embrac- 


23 


ing  fifty  thousand  acres,  in  Rockland 
and  Orange  Counties,  should  be  named 
after  a  nineteen  year  old  lad,  before 
he  had  gained  prominence.  Accord- 
ing to  Samuel  W.  Eager's  "History  of 
Orange  County,"  and  other  authorita- 
tive accounts,  the  Sterling  Iron  Works 
are  among  the  oldest  in  the  Country, 
and  the  most  ancient  in  the  vicinity. 


STERLING  LAKE 

The  Tract  was  owned  by  the  Town- 
send  Family  until  April  1,  1864,  (*  19) 
when  the  entire  property  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Sterling  Iron  and  Railway 
Company,  which  was  organized  by 
Mr.  David  Crawford,  Jr.,  and  is  still  in 
operation.  Mr.  Peter  Townsend,  3rd, 
however,  retaining  a  large  interest, 
along  with  Mr.  Jay  Cooke,  Mr.  David 
Crawford,  Jr.,  Mr.  Thomas  A.  Scott, 
Mr.  Joel  Barlow  Morehead,  Mr. 
George  C.  Clark  and  others. 


24 


MACHIN'S  BATTERY  AT  PLUM  POINT, 
ERECTED  IN  1778 

The  Furnace  was  first  erected  by 
Ward  and  Colton  in  1751;  the  Forge 
by  Abel  Noble  of  Bucks  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1752.  Peter  Townsend, 
at  the  Sterling  Furnaces,  made  his 
first  anchors  in  1752,  and  later  those 
used  on  the  famous  old  frigates,  "Con- 
stitution," "Constellation,"  and  "Con- 
gress;" the  first  cannon  for  the  use  of 
the  United  States  Navy;  and  steel  in 
1776.    His  son  Peter  Townsend,  2nd, 


25 


made  blister  steel  in  1810,  and  later 
Peter  Townsend,  3rd,  erected  large 
furnaces  and  rolling  mills  at  Brady's 
Bend,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  made 
the  first  bar  of  rail  road  iron  rolled  in 
.America.  It  was  from  this  property 
that  the  colonies  first  sent  iron  to  Eng- 
land, and  English  iron-masters,  in  the 
days  of  Queen  Anne,  complained  so 
bitterly  of  American  competition,  tha: 
Parliament  passed  a  law  protecting 
their  home  industry.  From  that  time 
until  the  discovery  of  Iron  Mountain. 
Missouri,  the  Sterling  Tract  was  fam  - 
ous, as  containing  the  largest  known 
iron  deposits. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:  Samuel  W.  Ea- 
ger, "An  Outline  History  of  Orange 
County,"  Newburgh,  1846-7;  Captain 
Edward  Boynton,  "History  of  West 
Point,"  New  York,  1863;  Benjamin  J. 
Lossing,  "The  Pictorial  Field-Book  of 
the  Revolution,"  New  York,  1850-60; 
Rev.  Daniel  Niles  Freeland,  "Chroni- 
cles of  Monroe  in  the  Olden  Time, 
Orange  County,  New  York,"  New 
York  1898;  Edward  M.  Ruttenber, 
"History  of  the  Town  of  New  Wind- 
sor, Orange  County,  New  York,"  New 
York,  1911;  "The  Writings  of  George 
Washington,"  edited  by  Worthington 
Chauncey  Ford,  New  York  &  London, 
1889;  Franklin  B.  Hough,  "American 
Biographical  Notes,"  Albany,  1875; 
Appleton's  Cyclopaedia  of  American 


26 


Biography,  New  York,  1887;  Win.  A. 
Duer,  "The  Life  of  William  Alexander, 
Earl  of  Stirling,"  New  Jersey  Histori- 
cal Society,  1847 ;  John  B.  Pearse,  His- 
tory of  Iron  Manufacture  of  the  Amer- 
ican Colonies,"  Philadelphia,  1876; 
James  M.  Swank,  "History  of  the  Man- 
ufacture of  Iron  in  All  Ages,"  Phila- 
delphia, 1884;  and  1892;  "Documents 
Relating  to  the  Manufacture  of  Iron 
in  Penna."  Philadelphia,  1850;  New 
York  Sun,  September  27,  1785;  Jean 
Hector  St.  John  de  Crevecoeur,  "Voy- 
age dans  la  Haute  Pensylvania,  et 
dans  l'Etat  de  New  York,"  Paris,  1801 
3  vols.;  "Iron  Age,"  for  October  15, 
1885;  "Monroe  Herald,"  for  October 
6,  1885;  Ellis  Parson  Oberholtzer, 
Jay  Cooke,  the  Financier  of  the  Civil 
War,"  Philadelphia,  1907. 


27 


L*  Journal  of  the  Provincial  Congress  of 
New  York,  723. 

2.  *  Journal  of  the  Provincial  Congress  ef 
New  York,  20. 

3.  *  Bernard  Romans  was  born  in  Holland. 
Early  in  life  he  was  employed  by  the  English 
Government  in  America,  first  as  an  engineer 
and  later  as  a  botanist.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Revolution,  he  was  offered  a  po- 
sition by  the  New  York  Committee  of  Safety, 
as  engineer,  in  which  capaciay  he  submitted  a 
plan  to  Congress  for  the  Fortifications  of  the 
Highlands,  opposite  West  Point,  Septembei 
18,  1775.  He  served  as  Captain  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania Artillery,  from  February  8,  1776  to 
the  close  of  the  War. 

4.  *  Thomas  Machin  was  born  in  Stafford- 
shire, England,  March  20,  1744.  He  took  up 
his  residence  in  Boston  and,  espousing  the  pop- 
ular feeling  of  the  time,  was  made  one  of 
the  Tea  Party  in  1773;  was  wounded  at  Bun- 
ker Hill,  while  acting  as  Lieutenant  of  Ar- 
tillery. He  continued  in  active  service  until 
the  close  of  the  War,  having  attained  the 
rank  of  Captain  of  Artillery.  He  resided  for 
a  time  after  the  War  near  New  Windsor, 
where  he  made  copper  for  change  and  cur- 
rency. He  died  April  3rd,  1816,  at  the  age 
of  72.  During  the  War  he  was  described  as 
an  ingenious  man,  and  one  who  had  given 
great  satisfaction  as  an  engineer. 

5.  *  Fort  Washington  v/as  situated  eleven 
miles  from  the  New  York  City  Hall,  between 
One  Hundred  and  Eighty-first  and  One  Hun 
dred  and  Eighty-sixth  Streets. 

6.  *  The  iron  furnished  by  Robert  Living- 
ston for  the  above  chain,  was  about  twenty 
two  tons.  His  bill  was  for  £902,  or  about 
£45  per  ton.    The  Convention  regarded  the 


I. 


price  as  exorbitant,  and  they  gave  the  matter 
an  investigation  on  the  charge  that  he  had 
sold  iron  to  others,  for  £17  and  £20,  but  the 
result  does  not  appear. 

7.  *  John  Hazelwood  was  employed  by  the 
Committee  of  Safety  of  Philadelphia,  to  whom 
he  communicated  the  plan  of  constructing 
Fire-Ships  and  Rafts  for  the  defence  of  the 
Delaware  River.  The  Legislature  of  Penn- 
sylvania authorized  the  construction  of  a  fleet 
of  these  vessels,  and  gave  him  the  commission 
of  Captain.  He  was  sent  to  Poughkeepsie 
to  aid  the  Secret  Committee  who  certified  to 
his  services,  August  26,  1776.  By  order  of 
Gen.  Green  he  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  Com- 
modore, October  7,  1777,  and  in  this  capacity 
rendered  efficient  service  at  the  attack  on 
Fort  Mercer,  October  21,  1777,  and  in  the 
subsequent  operations  on  the  Delaware  River, 
for  these  services,  he  was  honored  by  Con- 
gress with  a  sword. 

8.  *  William  Heath  was  born  March  2nd, 
1 T  37  at  Roxbury  Massachusetts,  where  his  an- 
cestors had  settled  more  than  one  hundred 
years  before.  In  1775  he  was  appointed  Pro- 
vincial Brigadier;  and  on  the  22nd  of  June  of 
the  same  year,  Brigadier  of  the  United  States; 
Major  General  on  August  9th,  1776,  and  Com- 
mander of  the  Eastern  Department  near  Bos- 
ton in  1777.  He  returned  to  the  Main  Army 
in  Juno,  1779,  and  commanded  the  Troops  on 
the  Hudson,  in  which  station  he  remained 
until  the  close  of  the  War.  His  memoirs, 
published  in  1798,  present  many  interesting 
occurrences  of  the  Revolution.  General  Heath 
died  in  1814,  the  last  surviving  major  gen- 
eral of  the  Revolution. 

9.  *  According  to  Beatson's  "Naval  and 
Military  Memoirs,"  Vol.  4,  page  236.  this 
chain  was  taken  up  by  the  British  and  sent 


II. 


to  England;  thence  to  Gibraltar  where  it 
was  of  great  use  in  protecting  the  shipping 
at  the  Moles. 

10.  *  Plum  Point  is  the  site  of  the  first 
European  settlement  in  Orange  Co.  New  York. 

11.  *  Captain  Machin  was  in  charge  of  a 
battery  of  14  guns,  at  Plum  Point,  just  south 
of  New  Windsor,  which  was  intended  to  as- 
sist in  preventing  the  navigation  beyond  this 
point,  (This  cheveaux-de-frise  extended  from 
Plum  Point  to  Pollopel's  Island),  and  for  the 
protection  of  the  works  in  the  vicinity. 

12.  *  Alexander  McDougall,  is  said  to  have 
been  a  native  of  Scotland,  early  becoming 
an  active  member  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  and 
was  arrested  in  February,  1770,  on  a  charge 
of  being  the  author  of  "the  betrayed  inhabi- 
tants in  the  fields,"  and  refusing  to  give  bail, 
was  committed  to  prison  by  Chief  Justice 
Horsmanden.  His  friends  represented  his 
case  as  similar  to  that  of  Wilkes,  who  had 
aroused  the  vengeance  of  the  Government  by 
the  publication  of  the  "North  Briton,"  No.  45. 
This  number  became  the  watch  word  of 
McDougall's  fellow  patriots.  On  the  20th  of 
December  following,  he  was  arraigned  at  the 
Bar  of  the  Assembly,  where  he  was  defended 
by  George  Clinton,  afterward  the  first  Gover- 
nor of  the  State  of  New  York,  but  McDougall 
v.as  not  liberated  until  the  4th  of  March  1771. 
In  March  1775,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Convention,  and  received  p  Commis- 
sion as  Colonel  of  the  1st  New  York  Regi- 
ment. He  rose  in  1776  to  the  rank  of  Brig- 
adier General.  In  1777  he  was  appointed 
Major  General,  and  in  1778,  superseded  Put- 
nam in  the  Command  of  the  Highlands.  After 
Arnold's  treason  McDougall  was  put  in  charge 
of  West  Point  on  October  5,  1780.  From 
1783  until  his  death  in  June,  1786  he  was  a 
member  of  the  New  York  Senate,  and  Presi- 


III. 


dent  of  the  New  York  Society  of  the  Cincin- 
nati. 

13.  *  George  Clinton  was  the  youngest  son 
of  Colonel  Charles  Clinton,  and  remotely  re- 
lated to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  whose  father  was 
the  Colonial  Governor  of  New  York.  George 
Clinton  was  born  at  Little  Britain,  July  23, 
1739,  now  in  Orange  County,  New  York. 
After  various  enterprises  and  experiences  he 
became  a  member  of  the  Colonial  Assembly 
in  1775,  and  on  May  15,  of  the  same  year,  he 
took  his  seat  as  a  member  of  Congress.  He 
voted  for  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
but  being  called  away,  before  the  Instrument 
was  ready  for  the  signatures,  his  name  is  not 
attached  to  it.  He  was  appointed  Brigadier 
General  of  the  United  States  March  25,  1777, 
and  at  the  first  election  under  the  Constitu- 
tion of  New  York,  April  20,  1777,  he  was 
chosen  both  Governor  and  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor. Thus  in  command  of  the  Militia  and 
at  the  head  of  a  powerful  State,  which  was 
for  many  years  to  be  the  seat  of  war,  his  pa- 
triotic services  were  of  the  greatest  import- 
ance to  the  country.  He  subsequently  held 
many  public  offices,  and  was  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States  from  1804  until  his  death 
on  April  20,  1812. 

14.  *  Hugh  Hughes  was  of  Welsh  origin, 
born  in  1727.  He  resided  in  New  Jersey  in 
1765,  removing  to  New  York  the  same  or  in 
the  following  year.  In  1776,  he  was  ap- 
pointed Commissary  of  Military  Stores,  by  the 
Provincial  Convention,  and  Deputy  Quarter- 
master General  of  the  forces  by  General 
Washington.  He  resigned  in  1778,  but  in 
1780,  was  urgently  solicited  by  Colonel  Pick- 
ering, then  Quartermaster  General,  to  resume 
his  former  rank  in  the  American  Army,  which 
invitation  was  accepted.  He  served  in  this 
capacity  throughout  the  war  until  1784,  when 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  General  As- 


IV. 


scmbly  from  the  city  of  New  York.  He  died 
at  Tappan,  March  15,  1802. 

15.  *  Louis  Despaix  de  la  Radiere  was  one 
of  four  engineers  sent  from  France  by  Com- 
missioners Franklin  and  Deane,  and  employed 
by  order  of  Congress.  On  the  8th  of  July, 
1777,  he  was  appointed  Lieutenant  Colonel  of 
Engineers,  in  accordance  with  a  Treaty  made 
in  France,  Feb.  13,  1777,  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  Colonel,  Nov.  17,  1777,  retained  at  the 
reorganization  of  the  Army,  January  1,  1779, 
and  died  in  service,  at  New  Windsor,  (in 
camp),  on  the  30th  of  October,  1779,  in  the 
35th  year  of  his  age.  See  the  Philadelphia 
Packet  for  Nov.  9,  1779. 

16.  *  Timothy  Pickering  was  born  in  Sa 
lem,  Massachusetts,  July  17,  1745.  He  grad- 
uated from  Harvard  in  1763.  Before  the 
Revolution  he  held  the  rank  of  Colonel  in  the 
Essex  Militia,  where  he  acquired  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  military  tactics.  For  Col.  Pick- 
ering is  claimed  the  distinction  of  conduct- 
ing the  first  resistance  in  arms,  to  the  power 
of  the  mother  country,  when  on  February  26, 
1775.  intelligence  arrived  from  Marblehead 
that  British  troops  were  landing  from  a  trans- 
port, with  the  intention  of  marching  through 
Salem  to  seize  some  military  stores  in  the  in- 
terior and  under  Colonel  Pickering  the  people 
opposed  the  progress  of  the  British  at  a  draw- 
bridge where  the  soldiers  were  compelled  to 
return  to  Marblehead,  and  bloodshed  was 
avoided,  (see  Trumbull's  "M'Fingal.")  He 
was  made  adjutant-general  of  the  Armv  in 
1776:  member  of  the  Board  of  War  with  Gates 
nr>A  Mifflin,  and  in  1780  he  succeeded  Gen. 
Greene  as  quarter-master  general  until  1785. 
Besides  the  many  civil  offices  held  until  his 
retirement  from  public  life  in  1717,  he  nego- 
tiated a  treaty  with  the  Six  Nations  in  1791. 
and  in  the  same  year  Washington  appointed 


V. 


him  postmaster  general;  on  the  resignation 
of  Gen.  Knox,  he  was  appointed,  Secretary  of 
War;  and  in  1795  President  Washington  made 
him  his  Secretary  of  State.  Colonel  Pick- 
ering d  cd  in  Salem  on  the  29th  of  January, 
iX29,  aged  84  years. 

17.  *  Jean  Hector  St.  John  de  Crevecoeu.- 
in  his  "Voyage  dans  la  Haute  Pensylvanie  et 
dans  l'Etate  de  New  York  par  un  membre  de 
la  nation  Oneida,"  Paris,  1801,  Vol.  I  p.  282 
°t  seq.,  tells  of  the  two  days  spent  with  Peter 
Townsend  and  describes  the  estate,  the  forges, 
furnaces  and  their  conversation.  According 
t.  ihis  traveler,  the  cter.ing  lurnace  produced 
2000  to  2400  tons  of  iron  annually,  the  lake 
(the  area  of  Sterling  Lake  is  310  acres)  was 
made  by  Mr.  Townsend,  from  a  mere  brook 
and  then  stocked  with  fish.  The  proprietor  de- 
scribed his  ingenious  machines  intended  for 
different  uses,  iuch  as,  a  p.ow,  equipped  with 
a  graduated  scale,  by  which  is  registered,  with 
great  precision,  the  power  of  the  team ;  a 
portable  mill,  designed  to  separate  the  grain 
from  the  chaff,  and  a  machine  which  can 
easily  gather  all  the  ears  in  a  field  without  the 
necessity  of  cutting  the  stalks  at  the  foot. 
All  these  machines  were  shipped  to  Mount 
Vernon,  for  the  use  of  the  President,  who  di- 
rected the  work  and  plantings,  by  the  use  of  a 
large  map  of  his  fields,  the  distinguished  trav- 
eler informs  us. 

18.  *  Charles  Clinton  was  the  father  of 
Governor  George  and  General  James  Clinton. 

19.  *  Deed  dated  April  1,  1864,  and  re- 
corded in  Orange  County.  Records  of  Deeds, 
April  12,  1864-178;  page  196. 


VI. 


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